In Issue #4 of Traversing Telara, our fearless narrator clashes with the forces of Regulos and Maelforge!

Traversing Telara is an exclusive series of articles from Trion Worlds that explores Rift's lore and gameplay mechanics through the eyes of one intrepid adventurer. It's a great read and a fantastic introduction to the world of Telara. Even if you're a veteran of Rift, you might enjoy hearing about the game from another perspective! Read on for Issue #4: Regulos and Maelforge!

Hello and welcome to the next installment of ZAM's weekly leveling and lore guide for RIFT, Traversing Telara.

After last week's introduction to the new playing zone, I left the area of Port Scion and ventured deeper into the forest of Silverwood. I didn't get far before I realized that things are looking bad. The followers of the Dragon God Maelforge are wreaking havoc throughout the forest, and the Guardians are having a tough time of it. Morale is low, fire rifts are opening up everywhere, and Maelforge's dragon cult, the Wanton Flame, is pushing the good guys back, overwhelming them with fanaticism and sheer numbers.

My appearance causes something of a stir. An Ascended warrior, come to save them all. At least, that's what they say. It seems there is a prophecy telling how a great hero would return to save Telara from the Blood Storm. And the people hanging out at Divine Landing think that hero is me.

Which leads to my first quest. I am handed a Sigil and asked to take it to the Guardian sentries battling to hold back Maelforge and his minions. The Sigil will inspire them, fill them with hope and vigor, and that will likely be enough to stop the fire creatures overwhelming Divine Landing. I take the Sigil and make my way around the perimeter of the camp, using it on each of the sentries I come across. Once they have been imbued with its power they race off into the fray, taking the fight directly to the creatures that are threatening us all.

Once this is done my next task is to kill as many of Maelforge's Wanton Destroyers as I can, stopping them from setting fire to the holy forest. I also have to put out any fires that are already burning, stopping them from spreading any farther. And there are quite a few of those.

Maelforge

Just who is this Maelforge? He is known as the Flame Sire, and he comes-rather obviously-from the Plane of Fire. We might be forgiven in thinking that Maelforge and his followers want to destroy everything, but that is not the case. They are focused on the long game. They revel in suffering, in causing pain. Maelforge enjoys watching the world fall apart, enjoying the cycle of death and regrowth so he can do it all over again.

Unlike Regulos, (see below), who just wants to destroy everything once and for all, Maelforge wants to keep the world in one piece so he can destroy it over and over again. He is ultimate chaos, ultimate entropy, and his influence is one of distrust and dissent. He thrills to see pain in others, to cause suffering, and he urges his dragon cult followers to embrace this dark philosophy.

Maelforge and his cult have definitely gotten his foot in the door here in Silverwood, and they need to be stopped before I go any farther.

Defiant

My Kelari elf is having a similarly tough time of it. But, instead of the Wanton Destroyers, he is dealing with the God of Death, Regulos, and his cult, the Endless Court. Things seem more chaotic this side of the bridge. Dragon cultists are running around everywhere. The Endless Courts and the Bomani-Egyptian-like, dog-headed creatures-are guarding death rifts just over the hill, and they seem to have constructed a settlement of some kind down by the shore.

These are my next tasks as I get into the game. Kill Bomani mystics and guards. Kill the Endless Court cultists. Basically, kill everyone who worships Regulos and who is trying to keep the Death Rifts open before more creatures spill through and overwhelm the Ark of the Ascended.

Regulos

Regulos is the main dragon god. The leader of the Blood Storm. He is called the Destructor, the Dragon of Extinction. And, although he is the strongest of the gods, his desires are the simplest. What does he want? To destroy everything. That's it. Regulos wants an end to all things. He wants nothingness. At least, this is what he wants to inflict upon Telara. Perhaps in revenge for the fact that his body was destroyed at the end of the Blood Storm Wars. This is what drives him; this is what he wants his followers in the Endless Court to achieve. Death. Destruction. Nothingness.

The Endless Court

The devotees of Regulos embrace death and emptiness. Not for them Maelforge's cycle of death and rebirth. To become a member of the Endless Court, Regulos's followers must forfeit everything it is to be human. One of the first tasks of those wanting to join the cult is for them to sever all attachments to their old lives by sacrificing their loved ones. During the rite of initiation, the aspiring cult member is required to murder the person closest to them on an altar dedicated to Regulos. Only then is Regulos convinced of the supplicant's dedication.

The Endless Court first began as a conspiracy between the dark mage Alekor Devishnille and the warlord Mahr Rilthain. These two men were beings of pure evil. Mahr sacri-ficed his own children to prove his loyalty to Regulos and Alekor slaughtered whole villages to harvest their body parts to use in his dark magic.

Alekor and Mahr were the first to wear the black robes of Regulos but others soon followed. Outsiders, murderers, rapists, those who did not obey the rules of society. Those who thought they could do as they wished. These people found a home in the Endless Court. They were encouraged to indulge in their base needs and desires. There were no rules. They could do what they wanted and no one would bat an eyelid. The Endless Court attracts the most evil people in the world, and they all work toward the day when their dark master can be freed from his prison beyond the Ward.

In the meantime, it is left to people like Anmar to try and stop them. A rain drop in a hurricane, perhaps, but we have to start somewhere.